Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 5/5/15

Special Nite Cap 

CORPORATE ED REFORM

American Teachers Need a Raise - US News

American Teachers Need a Raise - US News: American Teachers Need a Raise Flowers with a note that says “thank you for helping me bloom.” A bag of popcorn for a “very POPular teacher.” A set of highlighters that say “You’ve been the highlight of my year.” Teachers love getting these presents. I know from experience that teaching can be a thankless job, so any gift, no matter how small, is always wa

1 by mike simpson / 34min 

Watch What the World Would Look Like Without Any Teachers - Yahoo News

Watch What the World Would Look Like Without Any Teachers - Yahoo News: Watch What the World Would Look Like Without Any TeachersImagine a dystopian future in which reading is criminalized. Or a parallel universe in which the end of the human race hinges on the correct answer to a simple math question. Or how about a world in which the U.S. government replaces all teachers with large devices calle

1 by mike simpson / 40min 

Here's how much elementary school teachers make in each state - Yahoo Finance

Here's how much elementary school teachers make in each state - Yahoo Finance: Here's how much elementary school teachers make in each state Tuesday, May 5 is National Teacher Appreciation Day, celebrated each year on the Tuesday of the first full week of May. To honor the day, the Bureau of Labor Statistics highlighted how much elementary school teachers (not including special education teachers)

1 by mike simpson / 53min 

Sentencing for, Bay City Academy founder Steven Ingersoll | MLive.com

Sentencing on federal tax fraud charges rescheduled for Steven Ingersoll, attorney seeks new trial | MLive.com: Sentencing on federal tax fraud charges rescheduled for Steven Ingersoll, attorney seeks new trial BAY CITY, MI — Steven J. Ingersoll has a few more months to wait before learning his punishment stemming from federal tax evasion convictions, and may face a new trial entirely if a judge d

1 by mike simpson / 1h 

Online charter school accused of padding rolls for school funding | The Columbus Dispatch

Online charter school accused of padding rolls for school funding | The Columbus Dispatch: Online charter school accused of padding rolls for school funding State lawmakers said Monday they have referred allegations to authorities that an online charter school failed to dis-enroll hundreds of chronically truant students in order to pad its rolls.Ohio Virtual Academy, which serves about 13,000 stud

1 by mike simpson / 1h 

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Superintendent Nyland's Letter to Parent over School Closure Day

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Superintendent Nyland's Letter to Parent over School Closure Day:Superintendent Nyland's Letter to Parent over School Closure Day In what I believe to be a nuanced letter to school communities about the May 19th walkout by teachers, Superintendent Nyland says this in closing:It is important for families to know that this SEA action is not directed at Seattle Public

1 by mike simpson / 2h 

The CPS demand of a 7% pay cut is a retaliatory move in the face of the union’s political success against Rahm. | Fred Klonsky

The CPS demand of a 7% pay cut is a retaliatory move in the face of the union’s political success against Rahm. | Fred Klonsky: The CPS demand of a 7% pay cut is a retaliatory move in the face of the union’s political success against Rahm. I have always made it a rule never to tell other teachers what to do when it comes to their contracts. But I am breaking that rule today.Not that they need my a

1 by mike simpson / 2h 

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: L.A. UNIFIED WILL INVESTIGATE FOOD-SERVICE CONTRACTS AT PUC CHARTERS

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: L.A. UNIFIED WILL INVESTIGATE FOOD-SERVICE CONTRACTS AT PUC CHARTERS: L.A. UNIFIED WILL INVESTIGATE FOOD-SERVICE CONTRACTS AT PUC CHARTERSSupt. Fox Cortines asks L.A. Unified to review charter schools' food contractsSchool board candidate Fox Ref Rodriguez helps oversee charter school with questioned food contracts May 4 2015  ::  L.A. Unified Supt. Ram

1 by mike simpson / 2h 

25 Reasons Why You Should Appreciate Public School Teachers

25 Reasons Why You Should Appreciate Public School Teachers: 25 Reasons Why You Should Appreciate Public School TeachersMAY 5, 2015 BY NANCY BAILEY LEAVE A COMMENT1. Teachers in public school teach all children—they reject no one.2. Teachers choose teaching because of their subject and mostly because they like the students.3. Teachers don’t pick their careers for the money.4. Their teaching is fre

1 by mike simpson / 4h 

Corinthian Colleges Secretly Funded D.C. Think Tanks, Dark Money Election Efforts - The Intercept

Corinthian Colleges Secretly Funded D.C. Think Tanks, Dark Money Election Efforts - The Intercept: CORINTHIAN COLLEGES SECRETLY FUNDED D.C. THINK TANKS, DARK MONEY ELECTION EFFORTS (This post is from our new blog: Unofficial Sources.)The spectacular crash of Corinthian Colleges after years of systematically deceiving thousands of students into enrolling into low-quality, high-cost education progra

1 by mike simpson / 4h 

AFT’s Weingarten Celebrates Teachers, Nurses and Public Employees

Teachers Archives | NH Labor News: AFT’s Weingarten Celebrates Teachers, Nurses and Public EmployeesWASHINGTON—Statement from American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on the occasion of Teacher Appreciation Week, National Nurses Week and Public Service Recognition Week. The AFT represents teachers, nurses and public employees from across the country.“Many of us have had teachers

1 by mike simpson / 6h 

Thompson: Reformers to Teachers - Please Stop Thinking About Tomorrow - This Week In Education:

This Week In Education: Thompson: Reformers to Teachers - Please Stop Thinking About Tomorrow: Thompson: Reformers to Teachers - Please Stop Thinking About Tomorrow Teachers have to think ahead. What questions do I ask, in what order? How do I pace instruction for seniors with 5th grade skills so they can master college readiness concepts? What classroom disruption should I ignore? What will happe

1 by mike simpson / 6h 

Celebrating National Charter Schools Week: Fraud Corruption Lack of Accountability Part 2 #CharterSchoolsWeek

Celebrating National Charter Schools Week: Fraud Corruption Lack of Accountability Part 2 #CharterSchoolsWeekCelebrating National Charter Schools Week: THE ISSUES: Part 1 #CharterSchoolsWeekReport: Charter School Vulnerabilities to Waste, Fraud & AbuseCharter Schools Gone Wild: Study Finds Widespread Fraud, Mismanagement and WasteA Jacobin investigation finds widespread corruption at one of th

7 by mike simpson / 7h 

LAUSD chief wants more money, fewer restrictions in letter to governor

LAUSD chief wants more money, fewer restrictions in letter to governor: LAUSD chief wants more money, fewer restrictions in letter to governor The chief of California’s largest school district urged Gov. Jerry Brown to spend more money on schools, as the state prepares to finalize budget figures.Los Angeles Unified could reap up to $253 million extra if the state’s revenue projections live up to e

1 by mike simpson / 9h 

Most Americans Think Public School Teachers Are Underappreciated And Underpaid

Most Americans Think Public School Teachers Are Underappreciated And Underpaid: Most Americans Think Public School Teachers Are Underappreciated And UnderpaidMost Americans agree that public school teachers should get paid more money and treated with more respect, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll.In light of National Teacher Appreciation Week this week, The Huffington Post, in collaboration

by mike simpson / 9h 

A.F.T. head: Cuomo agenda ignores inequity | Capital New York

A.F.T. head: Cuomo agenda ignores inequity | Capital New York: A.F.T. head: Cuomo agenda ignores inequityBUFFALO—By blaming teachers for some students’ poor academic performance, Governor Andrew Cuomo has ignored the troubling racial segregation and socioeconomic inequity in New York’s public schools, a national teachers’ union president argued on Saturday.Randi Weingarten, president of the Americ

1 by mike simpson / 9h 

State board again to pursue waiver from No Child Left Behind | EdSource

State board again to pursue waiver from No Child Left Behind | EdSource: State board again to pursue waiver from No Child Left BehindThe State Board of Education isn’t giving up on the hope that U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan might grant California at least a partial waiver from the No Child Left Behind law that he has given to 43 other states.At its meeting on Thursday, the state board w

by mike simpson / 10h 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Charter School Love

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Charter School Love: Charter School LoveHave you heard? It's National Charter School Week. It's a time to "spread charter school love" and enter the Charter School Week Essay Contest. I think you get one of these ties if you win. Here's my entry. It's the time of year I start getting emails from Riya V. Anandwala from the National Alliance for Public Charte

1 by mike simpson / 10h 

Happy Thank A Teacher Day! - Lily's Blackboard

Happy Thank A Teacher Day! - Lily's Blackboard: Happy Thank A Teacher Day! If you’re a teacher, it’s Christmas today. This is National Teacher Day, celebrated every year on the first Tuesday in the merry month of May since the fine year of our Lord 1953, when Lady Eleanor Roosevelt convinced a wise and happy Congress to proclaim it throughout the land.Ok.Maybe it was started during some Camelot fa

by mike simpson / 10h 

A Gay 6-Year-Old's Thank You To His First Grade Teacher, 20 Years Later | Marcos Saldivar

A Gay 6-Year-Old's Thank You To His First Grade Teacher, 20 Years Later | Marcos Saldivar: A Gay 6-Year-Old's Thank You To His First Grade Teacher, 20 Years Later I rejoiced at the news that my first-grade teacher was named Teacher of the Year in Huntington Beach, CA, because no one deserves it more than Mrs. Wood Maloney. So, when she asked if I would write a letter of recommendation as she compe

by mike simpson / 10h 

Here's What Americans Get Wrong About Cinco de Mayo

Here's What Americans Get Wrong About Cinco de Mayo: Here's What Americans Get Wrong About Cinco de Mayo For most Americans, Cinco de Mayo means an excuse to drink tequila, eat Mexican food, and party hard.Turns out in Mexico, though, the holiday isn’t nearly as big a cause for celebration.In the US, Cinco de Mayo festivities can be found in a multitude of cities with large Mexican-American popula

1 by mike simpson / 10h 

Pennsylvania charter school reform hinges on 'accountability' - Watchdog.org

Pennsylvania charter school reform hinges on 'accountability' - Watchdog.org: Pennsylvania charter school reform hinges on ‘accountability’ School choice advocates and charter school critics both want stronger laws for greater oversight and accountability in the charter sector. So why is it so difficult to effect any real change in Harrisburg?It comes down to exactly what accountability means. The

1 by mike simpson / 10h 

School Reform, New Orleans Style - K-12 Schools: Beyond the Rhetoric - Education Week

School Reform, New Orleans Style - K-12 Schools: Beyond the Rhetoric - Education Week: School Reform, New Orleans Style In this post, Jack Schneider and Mercedes Schneider (no relation) discuss school reform efforts in New Orleans, with particular focus on the work of the Recovery School District.Jack Schneider: New Orleans has been a hotbed of educational reform efforts for the past decade. Parti

by mike simpson / 11h 

Despite Challenges, Most K-12 Teachers Would Recommend the Profession -- THE Journal

Despite Challenges, Most K-12 Teachers Would Recommend the Profession -- THE Journal: Despite Challenges, Most K-12 Teachers Would Recommend the ProfessionStandardized testing and policies originating from those outside the profession were cited by teachers as their greatest professional frustrations. Why do K-12 teachers stay in the profession despite its many challenges and notoriously limited f

by mike simpson / 11h 

YESTERDAY

The Seattle Education Association has voted to go on strike | Seattle Education

The Seattle Education Association has voted to go on strike | Seattle Education: The Seattle Education Association has voted to go on strikeWith an 85% yes vote today, Seattle educators have voted to join the wave of one day strikes in Washington State over the legislature’s failure to fund education. The strike will be on Tuesday, May 19.Snohomish, Lake Stevens and Franklin Pierce teachers in Was

1 by mike simpson / 19h 

Study: Charter schools have worsened school segregation | Chicago #CharterSchoolsWeek

Study: Charter schools have worsened school segregation | Chicago: Study: Charter schools have worsened school segregationCharter schools have worsened school segregation in Chicago and overall have not made the city’s school system stronger  — but might have weakened it, according to a new report by urban planners.Looking at school data for 2012-13, the Institute on Metropolitan Opportunity at th

by mike simpson / 23h hide  //  save

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 5/4/15

Special Nite Cap CORPORATE ED REFORMSeattle Schools Community Forum: Opting Out Talk is Not Dying DownSeattle Schools Community Forum: Opting Out Talk is Not Dying Down:Opting Out Talk is Not Dying DownDiane Ravitch had this recording of a weekly ed reform show from Michael Petrilli at the Fordham Institute.  In the first 7 minutes of the show, he worries about the opting out going on in NY state.

2 by mike simpson / 23h 

American Teachers Need a Raise - US News

American Teachers Need a Raise - US News:

American Teachers Need a Raise

 Flowers with a note that says “thank you for helping me bloom.” A bag of popcorn for a “very POPular teacher.” A set of highlighters that say “You’ve been the highlight of my year.” Teachers love getting these presents. I know from experience that teaching can be a thankless job, so any gift, no matter how small, is always warmly received. Most teachers go into teaching partly because they enjoy spending time with children and these gifts remind them how sweet and affectionate children can be.

It’s a mistake, though, to think that caring for children is all that teaching entails. Teaching is not easy, even though good teachers make it look like it is. Great teachers bring not just love and patience to the classroom each day, but also a set of professional skills and expertise.

[SEE: Political Cartoons on the Economy]

So, in addition to a craft project, I urge you to acknowledge your teacher’s professionalism today by thanking them the way you would any other expert with specialized expertise. Shake their hand and tell them what a great job they did helping your daughter understand how to sound out long vowel sounds or helping your son to understand the meaning of place value in two digit addition.

But know that a handshake is still not enough. To really show teachers we appreciate them, more systemic action is needed. Today’s teachers are being asked to transition to new, more complex and demanding standards and are held responsible for students’ mastery of them. They must provide an increasingly diverse student body with a variety of ways to access high-level content each day. And since many students come to them without having had the chance to engage in high-quality early learning experiences, teachers must find ways to catch up students who have heard an estimated 30 million fewer words than their peers.

Yet the training, support and compensation we provide teachers has barely budged. Only a third of teacher preparation programs report that they give student teachers frequent feedback throughout their clinical training. As a result, six in 10 teachers report feeling unprepared to meet the needs of their students when they start leading their own classrooms. In-service training is also inadequate: The vast majority of teachers say that their professional development is not training them to stay up to date with their jobs’ evolving responsibilities, and that they have too little time to plan and collaborate with one another. And last but certainly not least, teacher compensation is stagnant and has declined over timerelative to that of other educated professionals.

[READ: Power to the Teachers]

Currently, the average starting salary for teachers across the country is $36,141. This makes teacher salaries 40 percent lower than those of other workers with college degrees. Young teachers are finding these trends especially problematic; they are more likely to cite low pay as one of the main drawbacks of teaching than older teachers and are also more likely to leave the profession because of low starting salaries.

By contrast, young people seek out professions like law and medicine because of a combination of selectivity and high pay. If we want teaching to be an equally attractive field, we must reduce the opportunity cost of choosing a teaching career. Some argue that it’s impossible to raise teacher salaries to the same level as other professional fields, but Center for American Progress research shows that not only is it possible, it’s happening now, in districts large and small all across the country. In some of these districts, teachers are earning six figures and reaching top salaries in less than 10 years; the early evidence shows that these changes are improving the districts’ ability to attract and retain high-achieving teachers.

As anyone who has taught knows, teaching is an intellectually, emotionally and physically challenging job. We need to acknowledge that by compensating teachers fairly for all of their hard work. A teacher earning six figures should not be an anomaly. While professional-level salaries are not a silver bullet, they would signal to teachers and the public that we respect and value teachers’ capabilities and experience. To really show appreciation for teachers, we need to treat them like professionals.

Watch What the World Would Look Like Without Any Teachers - Yahoo News

Watch What the World Would Look Like Without Any Teachers - Yahoo News:

Watch What the World Would Look Like Without Any Teachers

Imagine a dystopian future in which reading is criminalized. Or a parallel universe in which the end of the human race hinges on the correct answer to a simple math question. Or how about a world in which the U.S. government replaces all teachers with large devices called “Brain Boxes”?

Those scenarios seem far-fetched, but what about a world in which our favorite teachers don’t exist at all?

Earlier this year, Project ED teamed up with Participant Media’s TEACH campaign on “A World Without Teachers,” a contest that challenged filmmakers of all ages to inspire the next generation to become educators. In Oscar-winning director Davis Guggenheim’s initial call for submissions, he asked filmmakers to imagine what a world without educators to spark curiosity, serve as mentors, and develop kids’ creativity and critical thinking would look like.

The competition garnered 62 video submissions that ranged from the absurd to the apocalyptic, from the humorous to the tragic. While you might expect students to rejoice at the possibility of an all-day recess period, submissions from some of the youngest contestants celebrated the important and ongoing legacy of their teachers.

In her untitled contest submission, Savannah Wakefield wondered how different modern art history might be without the existence of the old masters, artists who honed their craft and passed their knowledge and skills on to their apprentices. We wouldn’t have abstract expressionism and impressionism, two styles of art developed by students of art instructors. Where would Claude Monet be, after all, without the direction of his high school art teacher?

Other video submissions veered into the genres of science fiction and fantasy, deploying doomsday scenarios and injecting their stories with magical plot devices.In Derrick Ostalaza’s short film, “World Gone Wrong,” electronic teaching devices called L-Pads replace teachers. While the protagonist of Ostalaza’s film is initially thrilled by the prospect of a homework-free future, he finds that without guidance from educators, the world slowly descends into bleak chaos.

Likewise, in Brett Pokorny’s untitled submission, teachers begin disappearing into thin air any time they try to dole out knowledge to their students. As they gradually vanish, there is no one left in the world to teach us how to ride a bike, drive a car, or do a magic trick.

Or take the winning adult submission, “The Brain Box,” by Miles Horst from Valencia, California. The surreal animated clip imagines a world in which a Brain Box—a device that programs students with information rather than teaching them—replaces schools. Human interaction is traded in for the cold touch of computer coding. Algorithms, it turns out, just can’t kindle the imagination of children like a great teacher can.

Even when these short films make use of humor or harebrained schemes, they remain earnest in their attempts to illustrate a single idea: Our educators are crucial to the strength and empowerment of our communities.

As 17-year-old Fort Mill, South Carolina student Marina Barham noted in her winning video submission, excellent teachers don’t just inform—they inspire, which means L-Pads or Brain Boxes can’t replace them. 

Our greatest teachers must struggle, in a society that vastly undervalues them, to shape and illuminate the minds of our future leaders and change makers. A world without teachers is a world without a future—at least, not a future anyone would look forward to living in.Watch What the World Would Look Like Without Any Teachers - Yahoo News:

Related stories on TakePart:

• Barack Obama Was My Teacher

• Watch America’s Students Turn a Spotlight on the Spirit of Public Service

• Celebrate Teachers for Making History, Not Just Teaching It

Here's how much elementary school teachers make in each state - Yahoo Finance

Here's how much elementary school teachers make in each state - Yahoo Finance:

Here's how much elementary school teachers make in each state



 Tuesday, May 5 is National Teacher Appreciation Day, celebrated each year on the Tuesday of the first full week of May. To honor the day, the Bureau of Labor Statistics highlighted how much elementary school teachers (not including special education teachers) earn on average in each state.

New York's school teachers were the highest paid in the country, earning $74,830 per year on average in May 2014. The average elementary educator in Mississippi, on the other hand, was paid only $41,010.

Here's a map showing average annual wages for teachers in each state as of May 2014:

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(Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Bureau of Labor Statistics) 

And here's a table showing average teacher salaries:

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(Business Insider/Andy Kiersz, data from Bureau of Labor Statistics) 

The salary data can be found at the Bureau of Labor Statistics here.Here's how much elementary school teachers make in each state - Yahoo Finance:

NOW WATCH: 9 animated maps that will change the way you see the world

Sentencing for Bay City Academy founder Steven Ingersoll | MLive.com

Sentencing on federal tax fraud charges rescheduled for Steven Ingersoll, attorney seeks new trial | MLive.com:

Sentencing on federal tax fraud charges rescheduled for Steven Ingersoll, attorney seeks new trial

 BAY CITY, MI — Steven J. Ingersoll has a few more months to wait before learning his punishment stemming from federal tax evasion convictions, and may face a new trial entirely if a judge deems so.

A month-long trial ended on Tuesday, March 10, with the jury finding Ingersoll guilty on two counts of attempting to evade or defeat tax and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. The jury exonerated him of three counts of fraud by wire, radio, or television. The same jury also found one of Ingersoll's codefendants, Roy C. Bradley Sr., guilty of conspiracy to defraud the United States

U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Ludington scheduled himself to sentence Ingersoll and Bradley on Tuesday, June 16. That hearing has now been moved to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 24, due to some back-and-forth motions filed by defense counsel and federal prosecutors.

Ingersoll's attorney, Martin E. Crandall, on March 24 filed a motion to have Ludington issue a judgment of acquittal or order a new trial, arguing the government violated his client's due process rights.

" 'Where the law is vague or highly debatable, a defendant – actually or impliedly – lacks the requisite intent to violate it,'" Crandall wrote in his motion, quoting a 1985 case. "The unsettled nature of the law was ... demonstrated by the IRS Revenue Agent's and the Assistant United States Attorney's invocation of a factor (inadequate earnings and profits) that was not even identified by the Court as a relevant factor in this case. The unsettled nature of the law was further demonstrated by the IRS Revenue Agent's testimony that he himself did not know what the factors were and that he, an experienced CPA, needed someone else to find them for him."

In his motion, Crandall went on to say that "the prosecution made several improper suggestions, insinuations, and assertions of personal knowledge that the Defendant or a witness was lying, all of which resulted in an unfair trial. An additional foul occurred when the prosecution twice described their own burden of proof as amounting to preponderance of the evidence, all the while inviting the jury to lend more credence to the government as a figure of authority."

Bradley's attorney, Mark A. Satawa, joined Crandall's motion for his client to receive a judgment of acquittal.

Crandall also filed a motion asking for Ludington to amend some conditions of Ingersoll's bond to allow him to contact certain people named as witnesses by the prosecution for the trial. The government opposed this motion.

The prosecution then filed a motion seeking Ludington issue an order restraining Ingersoll from "dissipating assets that should be used to ensure payment of the fines and restitution that Steven Ingersoll will be required to pay as part of his sentence to be imposed in this case." The motion states Ingersoll owes $1,673,025 in back taxes; with applicable penalties and interest, the total is $2,699,673.48.

The motion went on to say that since his trial began and after his conviction, Ingersoll has been making efforts "to cloud the title to property owned by his various entities and to put his property interests beyond the reach of the court."

Ingersoll's attorneys filed a motion opposing the government's request for a restraining order.

Ludington is to preside over a hearing on the restraining order issue at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6. He's to preside over a hearing on the motion for acquittal or new trial at 4 p.m. on Thursday, July 23.

Ingersoll is free on bond pending sentencing.

Prior to the February-March trial, a separate federal jury in December found Bradley guilty of four counts of illegally distributing and handling asbestos, in violation of the Clean Air Act. Ingersoll in 2011 had hired Bradley to do renovations at the 400 N. Madison Ave. church to convert it into the first campus of Ingersoll's Bay City Academy charter school.

Ludington on March 12 — mere days after Bradley's second conviction-ending trial ended — sentenced Bradley to five years in prison on the asbestos-related convictions.Sentencing on federal tax fraud charges rescheduled for Steven Ingersoll, attorney seeks new trial | MLive.com: